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Research Interests
Research Interests
As an aquatic biogeochemist, my interest revolves around the interactions between organisms and their environment, with emphasis on trace metal bioavailability to phytoplankton and redox transformations. I am intrigued by the fact that microorganisms, striving to acquire nutrients and protect themselves from external stressors, actively modify their chemical milieu and in turn influence the biogeochemical cycles of trace and major elements in the ocean. I study fundamental processes and mechanisms by combining field and laboratory measurements and experiments.
Higher Education
Higher Education
2002-2005: Postdoctoral Research Associate; Princeton Environmental Institute, Department of Geosciences, Princeton University. Host: Prof. Francois M. M. Morel. Theme: Kinetics and mechanisms of trace metals and major nutrients acquisition by marine phytoplankton.
1997-2002: Ph.D. Environmental Studies and Earth Sciences (direct track); The Hebrew University. Advisors: Prof. Yigal Erel (Hebrew University) and Prof. Assaf Sukenik (IOLR). Dissertation: Iron redox dynamics and biogeochemical cycling in the epilimnion of Lake Kinneret.
1994-1997: B.Sc. Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences; The Hebrew University. Graduated cum laude
Academic Positions
Academic Positions
2021-present: Full Professor, Earth Sciences Inst. & Interuniversity Inst. for Marine Sciences, Eilat
2015-2021: Associate Professor, Earth Sciences Inst. & Interuniversity Inst. for Marine Sciences, Eilat
2010- 2015: Senior Lecturer, Earth Sciences Inst. & Interuniversity Inst. for Marine Sciences, Eilat
2005-2010: Lecturer, Earth Sciences Inst. & Interuniversity Inst. for Marine Sciences, Eilat
Activities & Services
Activities & Services
2024-present Associate Member of SCOR working group: Physiology and Rates in Microbial
Oceanography (PRIMO)
2022- present Member of GEOTRACES Standards and Intercalibration Committee
2021-present President of the Israel Association for Aquatic Sciences (IAAS)
2017-2021 Head of the Graduate Department of Oceanography
2017- present Member of GEOTRACES Scientific Steering Committee
2016– present Member of the SCOR working group: Iron Model Inter-comparison Project (FeMIP)
2016-2017 Sabbatical at University of British Columbia
2019 External PhD examiner at the Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls Sur Mer, France
2013 – 2016 Member of the scientific committee of the Israel Association for Aquatic Sciences (IAAS)
2010 – 2012 Collaborator in the ESF Research Networking Program: The Functionality of Iron Minerals in
Environmental Processes (FIMIN)
2009 – 2013 Member of COST action ES801 (Ocean chemistry of bioactive trace elements & paleoclimate proxies)
2020-present Member of the Screening Committee for Master Students in the Inst. of Earth Sciences
2019-present Member of the Screening Committee for Faculty Members in the Inst. of Earth Sciences
2018-present Member of the Screening Committee for Doctoral Students in the Inst. of Earth Sciences
Teaching
o Introduction to the Ecosystem of the Red Sea o Marine Biogeochemistryo Nutrients Biogeochemistry and Uptake o Methods in Oceanography o Undergraduate Seminaro Introduction to Practical Oceanography o Ocean Biogeochemistryo Processes in the Red Seao Aquatic ChemistryTeaching
Outreach Activity
Outreach Activity
2021 "iScientist" - online meetings with prep- and high-school students
2020 Earth Science Inst education initiative - Climate Change stalk series for high-school students
2020 Hands-on marine science education program for high-school chemistry majors
2019 Scientific exposure cruises in the Mediterranean and Red Sea for undergraduate students
Conference organization
Conference organization
2022-2025 Organizer & Chair of the annual meetings of the Israeli Association for Aquatic Sciences (IAAS), major community-building events
2019 Co-organizer of the 7th Kaplan symposium Trace in the Sea – Trace Elements and their Isotopes in the Ocean
2014 Co-organizer of the 5th Kaplan symposium - Biogeochemistry: Where Earth Sciences meets Biology
Grants
Grants
2021-2025 Israel Science Foundation (ISF) research grant. Dust as a source of Phosphorus to Trichodesmium - a globally important marine N2-fixer. $200,000
2022-2026 United States – Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) research grant (with Rene Boiteau). Ocean Fertilization by Dust – Studying how marine microorganisms ‘mine’ nutrients from dust $150,000.
2023-2024 Hebrew University Center for Sustainability. Iron Oxide Nanoparticles – Detection and Effect on Microorganisms. (with D. Mandler).
2018-2021: Israel Science Foundation (ISF) – National Science Foundation China (NSFC) research grant (with Prof. Dalin Shi). “Primary Production in the Changing Ocean - Effects of Ocean Acidification on Trichodesmium metabolism and iron utilization from dust”, $220,000
2019 FICUS award for research at the National US facilities EMSL and JGI (with Drs. Boiteau, Stuart & Gledhill). “Interactive mechanisms of mineral dissolution by a microbial consortia”, $101,864. https://jgi.doe.gov/our-projects/csp-plans/approved-proposals-fy19/#ficus jgi-emsl
2017-2020: German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF) research grant (with Prof. M. Gledhill & Achterberg). “Dust iron utilization by natural Trichodesmium colonies”, $200,000
2015-2019: Israel Science Foundation (ISF) research grant. “Bioavailability of particulate iron to planktonic cyanobacteria”. $250,000
2011-2015: Israel Science Foundation (ISF), “Dynamics of Reactive Oxygen Species in Coral Reefs – Sources, Sinks and Roles”, $215,000
2009-2013: United States–Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), "Iron bioavailability to phytoplankton: do different taxa share similar uptake mechanisms?" with Prof. Francois Morel, $120,000
2011: Ring Foundation for Environmental Studies, Hebrew University. "Iron Acquisition Strategies of Open Ocean Phytoplankton" with Prof. Nir Keren, $30,000
2007-2011: Israel Science Foundation (ISF), "Atmospheric iron inputs to the ocean: Can phytoplankton significantly affect aerosol Fe solubility and redox chemistry?" $240,000
2009: Israel Science Foundation (ISF), Institutional basic equipment grant. "In situ measuring and sampling system for oceanography", leading PI with Prof. Boaz Lazar and Ilana Berman-Frank, $150,000
2007-2009: United States–Israel Bi-national Science Foundation (BSF) Startup program, "Availability of organically bound iron to marine phytoplankton" with Prof. Francois Morel, $60,000
2006: Ring Foundation for Environmental Studies, Hebrew University. "Linking phytoplankton's iron homeostasis and iron recycling in the ocean" with Prof. Nir Keren, $30,000
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